So what makes these people tick and why are they dangerous?

Essentially we are talking about people who are motivated entirely by money. They want new customers for their fees, not to provide them with all the things that they have promised. And whilst they don’t set out to be dishonest, they are liberal with the truth and use phrases like “I know what you need” and “all your competitors are doing it, so you need to.”

How can you spot them?

Years ago they would have been the ones handing out business cards and brochures and calling you the same day or the next day to hook up a meeting. But the “Pushy Prospect Pursuers” of today are a little more savvy. They surround themselves with people who like them and think they are doing something amazing and then use their often limited knowledge and significant amount of charisma to talk up what they do and how they can improve your business in several easy steps. In essence they are the people who talk and never listen, who have the perfect solution for you, but don’t take the time or show any interest in funding out if it’s your perfect solution too.

What’s the process?

But their focus is almost entirely on generating new business, as they don’t seem to care about customer service or having happy clients, which is just as well as they don’t usually have many. Essentially they take your money and do the least amount of work they can in order to deliver the bare minimum of what they promised. And if you question them or ask for more, they will look at you like you are from another planet and then blame the economy, the market, the industry, essentially anyone but themselves. That’s of course if you can get hold of them, or even see them again, as they have a habit of dropping out of networking groups and or other places where they might end up being questioned about their apparent failings. So in the end it is you who feels guilty for continually chasing them and you’ve given up on asking about your unmet expectations as the answers are not very forthcoming. So to stop yourself from feeling you have been knowingly used, you decide cease working with them and just move on.

Sound familiar? Well I have a solution for you. Before you engage someone to work with, I would suggest you do the following three things which will put your mind at rest:

1. Have a meeting and see how much they listen and how much they talk. If they talk about knowing what you need and start to suggest solutions before they have understood what it is that you actually want, then walk away
2. Ask them if you can contact one of their previous clients to find out more about how you worked with them and the results they got from using you. And make sure you choose who to contact and when, otherwise they could be a primed friend rather than a genuine customer
3. Make sure you have a written proposal from them with tight parameters and regular (weekly/monthly) update calls or emails where they provide you with feedback, suggestions and results on the project/campaign etc. that they are working on. This way you can monitor their work from the word go and if you are not happy, you have something tangible to mark them against.

For help with your marketing from someone with good listening skills, readiness to understand what you want and an ability to never tell you what you need, together with regular feedback, communications and genuine results, contact Vicky at Fuel on 07766 566690 or email vicky@fuelmarketing.co.uk